Landslides have forced the closure of the access road between Ayacata and the Las Niñas Dam in Gran Canaria for several days.

 

 

The Cabildo's dams collect 673.000 cubic meters of rainwater from 'Olivier'.

 

The recent rains have left varying amounts of water in the Cabildo's dams and reservoirs in Gran Canaria. In the southern area, the Soria Dam has received 50.000 m³ and continues to channel some of the water through the Trasvasur, while El Mulato has accumulated 20.917 m³ and the Balsa del Sequero 9.000 m³ from the Barranco de El Negro. Chira has barely accumulated 8.748 m³, not yet reaching the useful intake, and Gambuesa has not received any contributions, like the rest of the CIAGC dams. In areas with more rainfall, Las Niñas has risen 6 meters and could have exceeded 500.000 m³, the Salto de El Perro dam has accumulated more than 12.000 m³ (50% of its capacity), and Siberio, in La Aldea, has received 72.000 m³. La Sorrueda, for its part, has not yet registered any contributions.

 

 

The passage of the storm Olivier The rapids in Gran Canaria have caused around thirty incidents in the last three days on the roads of the island network maintained by the Gran Canaria Island Council, forcing the temporary closure of several roads for safety reasons due to landslides caused by the rain. Therefore, the Department of Public Works and Infrastructure, Architecture and Housing is keeping all Road Maintenance teams on alert to address any incidents that may occur in the coming days. Furthermore, the Island Council's Civil Protection Plan has declared a pre-alert for landslides in anticipation of further collapses due to the rain that has fallen in recent days.

 

With these premises, the Gran Canaria Island Council urges all drivers who will be driving their vehicles this weekend to exercise extreme caution, especially in the more mountainous areas of the island, where there are numerous slopes and retaining walls alongside the roads.

 

Meanwhile, workers from the Ministry of Public Works and Infrastructure, Architecture, and Housing continue working to keep all roads on the island open and clear of obstacles. Currently, only one road remains closed to traffic due to a landslide, and two others due to mud accumulation.

 

 

 

One of the roads closed is the one connecting Ayacata with the Las Niñas Dam (GC-605) due to a large landslide affecting more than 25 meters of the road. Road Service personnel are working in the area to try to clear it as quickly as possible, although due to the magnitude of the landslide, it is estimated that a special emergency response and several days will be required to fully operate the road. The closure affects the section from the Ayacata intersection to the entrance to the Las Niñas Dam Recreational Area, at kilometer 10 of the GC-605. Therefore, those wishing to access this recreational area are advised to do so via Mogán.

 

The Highway Service has also restricted traffic on the unpaved sections of the GC-602 (near Ayagaures) and GC-604 (Chira) highways due to the heavy mud along both routes. The GC-602 is completely closed, while the affected section of the GC-604 is from kilometer 9 (Chira Dam) to kilometer 19 (Lomos de Pedro Afonso). Residents will be allowed access in both cases.

 

For its part, the section of the La Aldea road (GC-200) that borders the Faneque massif, a road that has barely been used since the opening of the Faneque-José Luis Martínez Cocero Tunnel and that does not affect the communication between La Aldea and Agaete, was able to open early this afternoon after remaining inoperative for more than 24 hours. 

 

In any case, due to the unpredictability of this type of incident, drivers and the general population are advised to stay informed of the status of the island's roads through the official channels of the Cabildo de Gran Canaria on social networks such as X through @GranCanariaCab and @CarreterasCabGC.